Female sex pheromone of the Chinese tortrix Cydia trasias

The Chinese tortrix, Cydia trasias (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is a major pest of the Chinese scholar-tree (Japanese pagoda tree), Sophora japonica L. Cydia trasias has two or three generations in Beijing, China and overwinters as larvae in seed pods, bark crevices, and twigs of the Chinese scholar-tree (Chen, 1992; Chen & Qi, 1992). The larvae attack both petioles and seed pods. During outbreaks, the larvae can cause extensive leaf drop, bare twigs, and seed pod damage, reducing the ornamental and economic value of the tree (Enda & Yamazaki, 1987; Chen, 1992). Since the Chinese scholar-tree is one of the most popular ornamental trees in urban and suburban areas, trees are sprayed with insecticide to control C. trasias outbreaks. Earlier field trials showed that C. trasias can be controlled by mating disruption (Zhang et al., 2001). In our early paper and patent (Fu & Meng, 1997; Meng et al., 1998), we reported E8,E10-dodecadienyl acetate (E8,E10-12:Ac) as a pheromone component of C. trasias, but the identification of C. trasias sex pheromone was not complete. We report here the identification and field testing of the female-produced sex pheromone in C. trasias.